- The Metz Fire of 1908 -
It was a warm, humid spring and early summer followed by a hot and dry late summer that set the stage for the greatest disaster in the history of Presque Isle County.
The area hadn't seen conditions this dry since 1864. Ferns and
other forest undergrowth, that had flourished earlier in the season, turned tinder-dry and brittle with the light frosts that came in the early fall months. Falling leaves and southerly breezes only added to the recipe for the disaster that was to come.
The fire started on Thursday morning, October 15, 1908 a little west of Millersburg and by that night had burned all the way to the shore of Lake Huron, 35 miles away. The towns of Rogers City, South Rogers, Alpena, Hagensville, Millersburg and Posen were threatened
and, in Bolton, the only building left standing was a church but it was the village of Metz
that was swept from
the face of the earth by the raging inferno that also claimed at least
37 lives including many of those aboard the relief train that had been sent to evacuate them.
"..we ran into a regular hell of flames and smoke."
Those were the words of Arthur White, a resident of Metz, who survived the relief train holocaust.
The relief train, with 3 freight box cars and 2 open top coal
gondolas, had been sent to Metz by the Detroit and Mackinac Railroad
to evacuate the residents before the fast moving fires reached the
town. All residents were invited to board the train and about 40 of
them did. Departure was delayed while furniture and other household
items were loaded into the cars as the fire grew dangerously close to the village. By the time the train departed Metz fire had surrounded the village on all sides. Less than a mile out, at Nowicki's siding, were blazing piles of cedar ties on both sides of the tracks. There was no going back and they certainly couldn't sit still so the engineer threw the engine's throttle wide open in an attempt to blast through the flames. The fire had already devoured the railroad ties and the rails, now loosened by the heat, spread, derailing the locomotive and its five cars in the midst of the inferno.
There was no hope of saving the women and children who had taken refuge from the fire in the last car. The open top, deep sided coal car was to be the crematorium for 16 victims of the Metz disaster. The brakeman, William Barrett, sought refuge in the train's water tank and was boiled to death.
In the countryside other residents perished while trying to save their homes. Among those were the families of Henry Kempf and Mrs. Otille Erke, along with her 3 children and 2 hired men who all fell victim when their farms were surrounded by the flames, leaving them no avenue of escape.
Survivors of the fire found themselves homeless, most with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Within days relief in the form of clothes, food, and hay began arriving. The Detroit and Mackinac railroad practically turned over its system to the relief effort. All supplies were transported for free and all carpenters employed by them were rushed to the fire stricken areas to build temporary shelters for the homeless.
Victims of the disaster include:
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Sources:
Metz Fire Historical Marker
Daily True American, Clinton, N.J., October 17, 1908
The Clinton Mirror, Clinton, IA, October 17, 1908
The Lewiston Morning Tribune, Lewiston, ID, October 19, 1908
The Day, New London, CT., Saturday, October 17, 1908
Oswego Daily Times, Oswego, N.Y., October 17, 1908
Ithaca Daily News, Ithaca, N.Y., October 17, 1908
New York Times, October 17, 1908
Ludington Daily News, Wednesday, October 8, 1958
Toledo Blade, October 15, 1958
1900 Federal Census, Presque Isle County, MI
Mich. Dept. of State, Division of Vital Statistics
